Palutena
Palutena (パルテナ Parutena), also known as "Lady Palutena", is the Goddess of Light, rightful ruler of Angel Land, and patron deity of Pit. She is kindhearted and benevolent, as opposed to the cruel and malevolent Medusa. Despite being a divine goddess, Palutena also seems to be somewhat of a damsel-in-distress, as she was kidnapped and held captive by Medusa, and needed Pit to rescue her. She has long green hair and is equipped with a staff and shield. She never physically aids Pit on the battlefield, but she does use her power attacks to fight him in Chapter 20 while possesed by the Chaos Kin, Palutena's Temple. She is leader of her own army, better known as Palutena's Army. Personality and Relationships Palutena's personality is not explored much during the first two games, although the general description is that she's a "pure-hearted and kind" goddess who puts her people before her own welfare. With the advent of Uprising, it is revealed that Palutena is rather light-hearted and a little playful. She gets along swimmingly with Pit and banters with him multiple times throughout the adventure. She is also very intelligent and knowledgable, helping Pit with various enemies, hinting at the best direction to take, and how to get past certain obstacles. She is so successful at aiding Pit with information, in fact, that Hades calls her "Professor Palutena" and "Know-It-All Palutena" in the game's commentary multiple times. She is notable for being the only deity to be aware and admit that the gods' fighting is what causes so much suffering. Pit Palutena trusts Pit, who is thoroughly loyal and dependable in return. They share a "mutually beneficial" relationship: Pit does the leg-work and Palutena guides him and aides him in battle. By far her greatest gift, as far as Pit is concerned, is the Power of Flight she bestows upon him. At first, during Uprising, it can be summarized that she has a tendency to take Pit for granted at times, as she very well could have obliterated Pit with her "Super Goddess Glambuster" when using it to destroy Hewdraw knowing that he was within the destructive vicinity of the attack, and she thinks nothing of using her "Monster Pheremones" to attract monsters to Pit's location - potentially risking his life as both Hewdraw heads were on the loose. However, during Chapter 22, Palutena clearly states and acknowledges that Pit has made countless sacrifices, both for her and everyone else, revealing that she shares a much deeper bond with him then what anyone knows. In chapters 20 and 21, she's overjoyed to see Pit who, in return, is relieved to see she's alright. When Pit is unconscious at the end of chapter 21, Palutena holds him and is very distraught, which highlights just how much she cares for him. Similarly during the Aurum Hive Chapter (16) she mentions she "wouldn't know what she'd do without Pit" causing Pit to remark how sweet it is, whilst the two gods, Hades and Viridi, pretend to be sickened by the display. In response Palutena simply says, "you wouldn't know anything about loyalty". Ultimately, she serves as a sort of "older sister" figure to Pit. The Centurions The Centurions are completely devoted to Palutena and will follow any order, even attacking Pit during Chapter 18 and 20. Palutena realizes their relative fragility and prefers not to send them into battle unless absolutely necessary. Pit feels similarly. At one point Palutena mentions "possibly opening a boot camp" for them. Palutena is able to summon Centurions and Centurion Knights, and Viridi is surprised at Palutena's generally lax attitude to the Centurions who risk their lives for her. She cares deeply for them however and hates seeing them fall - a caring that rivals what she feels for Pit. Medusa Medusa harbors a deep hatred for both Palutena and Pit and aims to completely obliterate them in revenge for her defeat of 25 years ago. Palutena in return doesn't seem to hate ''Medusa, but she definitely resents her for her actions against humanity. Their war is what sets the first game off. Hades The Master of the Underworld comes across as quite flamboyant, and his flirty attitude towards the goddesses appears to disgust, or at least annoy, Palutena. The goddess tolerates him during the Aurum Invasion but makes no bones about his defeat when he is revealed to be devouring souls. Hades's attitude, beyond flirting, isn't known and he generally seems indifferent so long as the Goddess of Light doesn't meddle in his affairs. He often refers to her as "Pretty Palutena" or "Professor Palutena" to tease and annoy her. Oddly enough Palutena seems to already know Hades as she knows his name without him introducing himself. Mimicuties Apparently Palutena likes Mimicuties as when Pit chooses the middle chest in the 4.0 Intensity Gate in Pandora's Labrynth of Deceit she says, "Who's a Mimicutie!" Viridi Viridi has a grudging respect for Palutena - revealed mostly during Chapters 20 and 21 - whereas Palutena seems to respect Viridi as a goddess but is equally against her actions. During the Reset Bomb arc, Palutena clearly states that Viridi is over-stepping her domain and will pay for her actions. When not at odds over humanity, Palutena and Viridi appear to be on civil terms. Palutena's respect for Viridi seems to grow during Chapter 22 when she realizes that she took care of Pit while she was being controlled by the Chaos Kin. Palutena is also aware of Viridi's soft spot for Pit, and teases her about it in Chapter 16. Dark Pit Fondly referring to Dark Pit as "Pittoo" and "quite the little scrapper," Palutena mentions that his existence is unnatural and he needs to be eliminated. After the initial battle in Chapter 6, Palutena seems to become more tolerant of Dark Pit and even acknowledges how having two angels is useful as opposed to just one. Dark Pit seems to respect Palutena and after the events of Chapter 21 realizes she's important to his survival too. When Pit is turned into a ring, Dark Pit ends up unconscious for the three years while Pit spends as jewelry, making him realize they have an important connection. Palutena and Dark Pit grudgingly set aside their differences to assist Pit in Chapter 22 when he's on the verge of dying, showing them to be accepting of each other on a civil level at least. They later save Pit from Hades, and Palutena is likely the one who granted Dark Pit the Power of Flight in the game's ending, as Viridi had granted hers to Pit. Phosphora Palutena at first seems to respect Phosphora's battle prowess, however she quickly turns antagonistic towards Phosphora when the latter off-handedly calls her "Ma'am". Palutena becomes unusually prickly, rapidly and defensively asking Phosphora if she's "trying to start something". Palutena then rebukes Pit, reminding him that despite their light-hearted flirting, "she's ''the enemy". ''Pit audibly winces and mutters "Uh-oh" during the exchange, suggesting that Palutena is rather sensitive about her age. Phosphora, on her part, doesn't really seem to care at all about Palutena, making it a one-sided goddess rivalry. Pandora and Thanatos Thanatos and Palutena don't have much screen-time together, and as such they don't really talk much. The only time they have some kind of conversation is when Palutena asks why Thanatos doesn't outrank Medusa in the Underworld army, with Thanatos avoiding the question. Pandora seems to have a rivalry with Palutena, such as screaming out that she's not a strategy guide when Palutena asks her about the Mirror of Truth. Palutena acknowledges that Pandora has a certain aura of toughness to maintain as part of the "rules of being a Boss". When Pandora becomes Amazon Pandora, Palutena is understandably surprised. Not even Hades recognizes her true form. Powers and Abilities Power of Flight Palutena's primary abilities shown in the games are utilitarian, such as granting Pit, a flightless angel, the Power of Flight. This power only lasts five minutes, limited by Pit's wing's tolerance of the Power of Flight. Some other Powers In ''Uprising, Palutena grants Pit grind rails, food, and vehicles to aid him in his quest. She is also responsible for arrows that guide Pit through levels (a power made possible through her "Palutena Super Sensor," as she calls it), and can expose weak spots on enemies such as Aurum ships (which she calls her "Power of Weak-Point Exposure"). Seeing the Future In Of Myths and Monsters it's revealed that she has prophetic vision, a power briefly mentioned again in Uprising when Palutena foresees major bloodshed after her and Pit's blunder with the Wish Seed and the Phoenix. Powers in Anime Shorts In the anime shorts, Palutena is revealed to be a potions master, as she is able to (unintentionally) make vegetables into animate beings through an overdose of her potion. Later she uses her "Power of Caging" to try to stop the mutant carrots. After she learns that the potion can be washed of she uses her "Power of Maelstrom" to make it rain. Power to Transform objects/people In chapter 20 it is revealed by Viridi that Palutena turned Pit into a ring. This may be her own power or the Chaos Kin's. Battle While she is mostly supporting, Palutena is shown to be quite adept offensively as well. Palutena is the boss of Chapter 20 in Uprising, being controlled by the Chaos Kin, which must be destroyed while not harming the already weak Palutena, and defeating her instead of the Chaos Kin will result in an "I'm Finished". While she has been noticeably weakened by resisting the Chaos Kin for three years, Palutena shows that she is very adept in battle, wielding her staff and shield. "Palutena Glam Blaster" A fierce attack Palutena uses to finish the Three-Headed Hewdraw if Pit doesn't finish the last head quickly enough, killing it in one shot. Levitation. Palutena has the ability to levitate, effortlessly and seemingly indefinitely; even when she swoons from resisting the Chaos Kin, she does so in midair. Projectiles Palutena boost a plethora of light-based projectile attacks. She can create three balls of light above her either horizontally or vertically. If horizontal, Palutena will fire three bolts of light at the same time up to three times in quick succession, launching a total of nine shots with great horizontal range. If vertical, the bolts will fire one at a time from the bottom to the top, rapidly firing off up to nine shots in a flurry of light. "Cover your eyes!" Palutena raises her shield and charges her light power, then unleashes it blinds her target with light, if in range. This lasts for about three seconds. "Time for a Sacrifice!" Palutena shoots a large, slow-moving ball of teal light that hone in on her target. Palutena can shoot up to three in quick succession. "Kneel before me!" Palutena waves her staff and shoots three fast-moving columns of light across the stage. "Poor you!" Palutena launches a slow-moving halo that resembles her own across the ground. The halo hones in on her target and chases it, and it additionally shoots its own light projectiles at her target, up to three times before evaporating. Melee While Palutena seems much more comfortable at a distance, she possess a swift melee attack in which she twirls, surrounding herself with rings of light, knocking her target back. She will use this as a counter to being melee attacked in Chapter 20, or if her target is extremely close to her. "This might sting!" When her target is nearby, Palutena raises her staff and zooms forward in a huge column of light, blazing toward her target at great speed. This attack also cover a great distance, allowing her to essentially move across the stage. Summoning Palutena is able to summon Centurions and Centurion Knights (depending on the Intensity) to aid her in her battle. She will only summon one at a time. During the three anime shorts she displays the ability to summon storms, cages and a "video display" for Pit to view. Appearances Kid Icarus Prior to the start of the game, Palutena banished the cruel Medusa and turned her into a horrible monster. When Medusa took over Skyworld and imprisoned Palutena, Pit gathered the Three Sacred Treasures to defeat Medusa. Palutena additionally gave Pit a Sacred Bow with her last amount of energy for Pit to break out of his prison in the Underworld and which to defeat his enemies. Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters Here, Palutena charges Pit with the quest to recover the Three Sacred Treasures and prepare for the coming of Orcos. Super Smash Bros. Brawl Palutena appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl in The Subspace Emissary, the game's extensive Adventure Mode, where she gives Pit a new Bow in order to fight the Subspace Army, having the honor of being the only non-playable ally character in the story. She also appears in Pit's Final Smash, Palutena's Army, where she summons Centurions to attack Pit's enemies. She's even featured as an unlockable trophy, only given once the player has completed "Cleaning house in Skyworld". It is in Brawl that Palutena's design gets updated to the modern look she has now. Oddly, Palutena appears to look older in Brawl than in Uprising. Kid Icarus: Uprising The goddess of light and ruler of Skyworld. Palutena guides Pit through most of his journey, using her powers to help him protect the humans of the surface world from her archnemisis, Medusa, goddess of the Underworld. Despite here reputation for wisdom and mercy, little is known about the history and motivations behind the goddess Palutena. What she lacks in military might, she makes up for in her brave champion, Pit. Palutena entrusts Pit with a weapon, a First Blade and the Power of Flight (that helps Pit fly for five minutes). She currently appears to act as the "Mission Control" for Pit, giving him information and suggestions. She appears quite knowledgable about near-everything Pit comes across. With this, her personality comes out a lot more than in previous games. She appears to enjoy teasing Pit, who seems to take it in good humor. In the aftermath of the Aurum invasion, Palutena is possessed by the Chaos Kin who uses her to attack humanity for the next three years while sealing away Pit's soul in a ring. She is acts like a completely different character while the Chaos Kin posseses her. Eventually, it is revealed that she's possesed before Chaos Kin escapes with Palutena's soul, turning the goddess' body to stone. Though restored to normal, Palutena finds Pit is mortally wounded and has Dark Pit help her bring Pit back from the verge of death. Kid Icarus Anime She appears as one of the main protagonists in "Thanatos Rising" where she assists Pit in trying to defeat Thanatos. Her first action is to warn Pit of Thanatos' imminent attack on a nearby city. Pit swears to defeat him. Later when giving chase to Thanatos, Palutena gives Pit "her Power of Flight" to catch up. When Pit loses track of him, Palutena suggests a shortcut through a nearby valley. As she guides him through, Pit asks whether she's sure about this, After replying about "not having faith", Palutena continues to guide him despite being "rusty". Palutena is the main character in her own two-episode Anime, "Palutena's Revolting Dinner". During the anime she accidentally brings a group of carrots "to life" - sprouting limbs. They quickly go on a rampage, forcing her to summon rain to eventually defeat their combined, giant form. Palutena has been attempting to cook these vegetables for the whole episode and eventually simply says to Pit, "Pit, we are going OUT for dinner". She has a bath in the hot springs. During "Medusa's Revenge", Palutena reveals her history with the Goddess of Darkness, but does not play an overly major role beyond confronting Medusa when she attacks the humans. Gallery Pit 070809a-l.jpg|Palutena from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Palutena.gif|Palutena in the original Kid Icarus. Palutena's expressions.png|Palutenas expression for Kid Icarus Uprising Chaos kin steals Palutena's Soul.png Palutena Possessed.png Paulatena (special).jpg Untitled-3.png power of gating.gif|Palutena using Power of Gating palutenaanime.jpg Paletuna's Bow Trophy.jpg 404px-PalutenasKey.png Chaos kin steals Palutena's Soul.png Palutena's temple1.png 057 - Petrified Palutena.jpg Anime-photo-shaft-large.jpg Palutena.jpg Zombie.png 126-AKDJ.jpg Game-modes-treasure-hunt-01.jpg Chaos Palutena.png palUtena.jpg|bad hair palutena Trivia *The name'' Palutena'' may come from Pallas Athena who was the Greek Goddess of Wisdom and War, the actual god of light being Apollo. After the Romans absorbed the Greek culture, this goddess became known as Minerva. *It is possible that Palutena is a corruption of parthena which means a virgin in Greek. This is based from the katagana of parthena which is パルテナ (PARUTENA). *In the best ending of the original NES game, a budding romance was implied between Pit and the Goddess. Whilst this isn't touched in the new game, Palutena is shown to be very protective of Pit, and they share a very strong relationship. However, this ending was not in the original Japanese version, and is therefore non-canon. *During Kid Icarus: Uprising Pit often says Palutena's name with a southern accent. He will also always address or refer to her by her full title "Lady Palutena". **Other characters also pronounce Palutena's name the same way as Pit, though they never refer to her by a title unlike Pit. *Palutena appears to have a knack for mixing up phrases and names. For example, she refers to "Super Smash Brothers" as "Super Bash Sisters" and instead of "Every rose has its thorn", she says "Every coral has its thorns" Whenever Pit corrects her, she always insists she's right. *According to Masahiro Sakurai, Palutena is 22 years old when converted from the human body. Quotes *''"Despite the Underworld Invasion the people haven't given up hope!"'' *''"That's a Cherubot. The Cherubot is both armor and weapon, even just jumping in it packs a punch."'' *''"Listen to that swagger, you've toughened up nicely Pit. Remember when you'd be all, like, "I'M FINISHED!" all the time?"'' *''"It's gigantic!"'' *(upon defeating the Space Kraken) "What a sucker!" *''"A Space Kraken? Well that came out of nowhere!"'' *''"Fly Pit!"'' *''"I'll give you my Power of Flight!"'' *''"Pit, the situation is grave: Thanatos is about to attack the city."'' *''"Oh Pit, did you think I have time to read every blog? I never had any time for myself!"'' *''(Fighting Pit ) '"Time to make a sacrifice!"'' *''"Cover your eyes!"'' *''"Poor you!"'' *''"So, you're here to fight me Pit?"'' *''"Stop it, Goddess of Darkness!"'' *''"What are you doing!?"'' *''"Pit, I have need of you once more!"'' *"His very existence is unnatural. He must be eliminated!" See Also * Pseudo-Palutena Category:Super Smash bros. Brawl Category:Characters Category:Kid Icarus: Uprising Category:Gods Category:Protagonists Category:Kid Icarus Bosses Category:Uprising Bosses Category:Kid Icarus Anime Category:Heroes Category:Allies Category:Goddess Category:Friends Category:Icarus Army Category:Palutena's Army Category:Kid Icarus